The Final 10 Games: Teams with the Most at Stake

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As of March 29th, every team has played at least 72 games, with many have 10 games left to play over the next couple weeks. At the time of this writing, only the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks have clinched a playoff spot, with the Thunder locked into the first seed in the West.

Many teams are still fighting to lock themselves into a playoff spot with the top six teams in the East likely locked into playoff spots. In the West, the four through eight seeds could be fought for until the last night of the season. Even outside of the playoff picture, play-in teams have serious playoff implications or implications beyond the 2024-25 season.

Phoenix Suns

Despite a season that saw the team fail to trade Bradley Beal and burn the bridge with Kevin Durant, the future of the Phoenix Suns comes down to their last 10 games. Sitting at 35-37, the Suns sit in the 10th seed, holding on to the last play-in spot. They share the same record with ninth seed Sacramento Kings and have a half game lead over the 11th seed Dallas Mavericks. For Phoenix, making the playoffs is their last hope of showing the trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal could work.

Los Angeles Lakers

Sitting at 44-28 and fourth in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers are comfortably sitting in a playoff spot. The last 10 games for L.A. will be key for determining where the Lakers finish the season and how they start the 2025 playoffs. The second seed Houston Rockets sit at 47-26 while the eighth seed Minnesota Timberwolves sit at 41-32. For the Lakers, playoff seeding could mean a run to the Western Conference Finals or an early playoff exit. Falling to the sixth seed could potentially see the Lakers have a first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets a team that has had their number over the last few seasons. If the Lakers can somehow reach the third or second seed, they could see a matchup against a team like the Clippers or Warriors. Currently sitting in fourth place, the Lakers would be set for a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Even though Luka Doncic and LeBron James have proven to be a great duo this far, the playoffs could prove to be a tough challenge with the wrong first round matchup. While it is wrong for a team to purposely drop in the standings, the last 10 games will be for the Lakers to determine who they want to play in the first round.

Milwaukee Bucks

Despite a bad start to the season, the Milwaukee Bucks have likely locked themselves into the playoff spot in the East, but the question is where they will finish. Currently 40-32, the Bucks sit in sixth, while the fourth seed Indiana Pacers and Fifth seed Detroit Pistons sit at 42-30 and 41- 31 respectably. Milwaukee will be finishing their season down one superstar as Damian Lillard is out indefinitely with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. There is also no telling if Giannis Antetokounmpo will be available for the final 10 games or if the Bucks will rest him. Having lost in the first round the last three playoffs following their 2021 championship, the Buck’s championship window is closing.

The bigger fear is Antetokounmpo accepting the Bucks may not be able to win a championship anymore and requesting a trade. For Milwaukee, the next 10 games are about making sure Giannis is healthy and ready for the playoffs with it being highly unlikely that Lillard comes back this season.

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have had a very up and down season so far. Just over 70 games into the season, Chicago would surpass the over/under win total of 30.5 wins set by Las Vegas oddsmakers. The team moved on from guard Zach Lavine after several years of trade rumors. The team would lose a handful of games immediately following the trade but has gone 11-12 since the trade. While they did not get a lot of capital in return for their involvement in the De’Aaron Fox trade, they did get their 2025 first round pick back from the San Antonio Spurs.

The Bulls remained in the 10th seed for much of the season but have moved into 9th with teams like the Miami Heat falling in the standings and play-in hopefuls like the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, and Philadelphia 76ers failing to catch up to the Bulls. With the 2025 draft being one of the more stacked drafts, especially in the lottery, the Bulls still have a slim chance to land a top 10 pick.

For a team that has struggled without a superstar-level player for almost a decade, focusing more on the and less on the playoffs should be a priory for the Bulls. While they cannot influence the teams around them in the standings, Chicago’s future could depend on the last 10 games of the season